Improved ore-separator



E. L. SEYMOUR.

- Ore Separator.

5 No. 45,757.- Patented 1an. 3, 1855.

UNITED STATES PATENT OrmeaD EDWARD L. SEYMOUR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

lMPaovEDv ORE-SEPARATOP..

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,757. dated January 3, 1865; antedated December 3, 1862.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD LoUIs SEY- MOUR, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Method of Concentrating Gold, Silver, and other Orcs and Granular Matter of any Kind, of' which the following` is a full and clear ex'- 1 Imation.

My present method is a modification of the method of operating heretofore employed by me, and for the adaptation of which Letters Patent have heretofore been issued. But as heretofore essayed by me there was employed a compressed-air current, the object of which was to lift the particles of sand, earth, gold dust, Src., in suspension77 for an instant in a forced blast of air, and then, during its cessation, permitting the particles, of whatever nature, to settle, according to their speciiic gravity, the heaviest settling lowest. 1n this method, however, I met with much diiiculty in providing such mechanical arrangements as would eifectually insure the air-cu rrent passingl through the mass to be treated with an evenly-distributed tlow and a uniform force, the latter being for the treatment of very ne dust, too dependent on the delicacy of manipulation and tact of the operator. Further, the forced bla-st tends to burst through the mass iu self-separated or isolated jets, and thus project particles of gold through and above the upper strata of valueless and lighter matter, and so proportionately counteract the desired elfect of separation according to relative spel ciiic gravities. As before remarked, mechanical means cannot (in an otherwise unobjectionable form) be adapted to obviate this difficulty in treating auriferous ores or earth and other substances containing very line particles of gold, silver, or other metals, tvc.; but I have discovered a method ot' action that does so eifectually. This consists in the partial intermittent removal-z'. e., rarefaction or dilation of the air above and within the mass of material under treatment-this being effected by exhaustion by means of a pump or bellows or device of that nature.

It will be presently perceived that my principle of action may be applied in many modiiications of apparatus and to the separation or concentration of various pulverized mineral ores, as well as granular substances of any springs E E', or by counter-weights, vor anyv other convenient arrangement.

F is a movable box with perforated bottom, made of metal, sieve-cloth, or any other con.

venient material, closely iitting into thc lower extremity of the hollow cylinder or trunk G, the upper part ot' which, H, is made of a perforated plate of tin, zinc, copper, iron, or any other suitable material. The cylinder in question is surmounted by a supplyingfunnel, I.

K K are two movable plates or diaphragms, connected together by six metallic tubes cr pipes, L, (the section only shows four of them,) the extremities of which are exactly iitted into the six holes of each of the two plates or diaphragms aforenamed. The vrelative position of the six holes is shown in Fig. 2., and marked, respectively, l, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. These two plates thus connected form a single vessel or instrument, with six equal and equidistant compartments or receptacles of any convenient capacity moving around a common center, M, between two stationary plates or diaphragms, N N', with three holes each, as shown in Fig. 3, marked 1 3, 5. The solid portions 2, 4, 6 of the lower plate, N', are so placed that they face exactly the open spaces 1, 3, 5 of the upper plate, N. The ore or granular matter in the funnel rests ou the solid spaces 2, 4, 6 of the lower stationary plate, N.

By operating with the rod or handle O, attached to the lower movable plate, K, in shifting the same from right to left, or vice versa, it is easily understood how regularly the niachine can be fed, and requires, therefore, no further description. It must, however, be remarked that each separate charge of ore or grain, 85o., (as the case may be,) which the feeding-funnel l supplies, and which falls down and rests upon the perforated bottom of the drawer F, must be more than sufficient to till the said drawerh-sometimes twice, thrice. or even four times as much-according to the relative richness or poverty of the matter under treatment.

The machine is operated as follows: The charge of ore or grain, Src., as the case may be, being let down upon the bottom oi the drawer F, the exhausting-bellows A is expanded by means ot' the levers B B or any other suitable arrangement. The air within the trunk or cylinder G above the layer or charge ot' ore or grain, Sec., resting upon the bottom ot the aforesaid drawer, is rareed. 'lhis causes the air within the mass to dilate, and, with the rhelp of the ambient air which insbes through the open interstices of the bottom ot' the drawer (as shown by the arrows) to lift, separate, and momentarily suspend and isolate the particles,impa rting to the mass an action the appearance of which to the eye may be best expressed as breathing rlhis being repeated for some time the particles settle according to their relative specific gravity. When, by withdrawing the drawer F from under the trunk or cylinder Gr by means of the rod I), attached to the drawer, and by turning half-ways, or nearly so, the said rod P, as soonas the handle from the position it occupies at Q has reached that at 1t, the contents of the drawer F--viz., the concentrated matter-will be upset, and thus sufi-'ered to fall down into thcvtrough S after the superincumbent refuse had already fallen out of the open or bottoinless trunk or cylinder G into the other trough, T. The drawer is now brought back to its original position, the funnel is made to supply a fresh charge, and the saine process otv workin g is repeated over and over again until the whole mass has been worked.

In concentrating and separating grains which contain in uch chaff, or hnsks, smut, tbc., I employ the air-pipe U in connection with the cylinder G, so that when, after each stroke of the levers B B', the tine dust out of the ore or grain which passes through the perforated or upper portion, II, of the cylinder G', into the bellows A, and thence escaping through the valves V V into the air, the husks or chaff, smut, Sie., will pass through the airpipe U by lifting the valve X into a separate receptacle, box, or room. n 1

After all the stuit' on hand has been worked the concentrated matter, it' desirable, can be made to undergo the same manipulation and treatment over and over again until it is perfectly pure. The same can be done with the refuse it' likely to pay for the trouble. The depth ot the drawer F varies from one to eighteen inches, according to the nature, quality, and size oi' the particles ot' the matter to be concentrated.

Having now fully described my improved method of concentrating metallit'erous ores, earths, and other granular' matter, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The combination ot' trunk or cylinder Gr with the movable drawer F, for the purpose ot' separating and separately delivering the refuse and the concentrated portion ot' each separate charge, as described.

.4. In combination with the cylinder G, the air-pipe U, as described, and for the purpose described.

3. The combination of the exhausting apparatus A, or its equivalent,'with the movable box F, with or without the cylinder G, as described, and for the purposes described.

E. LOUIS SEYMOUR.

Witnesses:

LEwis KETCHUM, HIRAM KETCHUM, J r. 

